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Fast Talk: Eckert's biggie and World Finals preview
Here’s the latest edition of Fast Talk, a DirtonDirt.com feature appearing each Monday and sponsored by Out-Pace Racing Products. Staffers Michael Rigsby, Todd Turner and Joshua Joiner gather weekly for a roundtable discussion about who’s hot, who’s not and other issues regarding Dirt Late Model racing. Staffer Andy Savary and regular contributor Ben Shelton sub for Michael and Joshua today (edited for clarity and length):
Todd Turner: Let’s start with East Alabama Motor Speedway’s National 100, where Rick Eckert pocketed more than $20,000 for his third victory in Alabama’s richest race. The York, Pa., driver hasn’t exactly piled up with victories in 2013, but including five runner-up finishes on the World of Outlaws Late Model Series, he’s run consistently well most of the season.
What a big shot in the arm for Eckert in wrapping up the season. It seems like November at EAMS is a time when guys can either celebrate a big season with a victory, or perhaps start a turnaround looking to next season, so Eckert was clearly pleased with his richest victory in seven years.
Ben Shelton: While it was a heartbreaker for Tim McCreadie, it was still a very popular win for Eckert. Rick has really had one of his most solid years in the past few this season. He's been consistent, and maybe he hasn't won as many as he feels like he should have, but he's been a top contender for sure. Maybe those handful of USAC midget victories have helped him hone his skills for these late season "taxi cab" races.
Andy Savary: It is, Todd, and while this has by no means has it been a bad year for Eckert, this one has to feel especially good for him. As usual, I thought he was very candid with announcer Rick Eshelman during his prerace interview last night, and Eckert’s response when asked to summarize his season in one word of “Almost!” was brilliant.
Though he now has eight victories on the year — most of which coming in the Paul Crowl’s No. 7 Rocket Chassis across Mid-Atlantic regional action — he so many runner-up finishes, including those five with WoO, where he has only found victory lane once. And though he has recorded top-five finishes in more than half that national tour’s races, there has always seemed to be something to kept him just away from victory lane.
I look back to a summer stretch towards the beginning of the Wild West Tour, I believe, where he dominated preliminary action for something like three straight nights and then pulled the worst possible number in the redraw each night. Though he moved forward in those features, it’s extremely difficult to win races from that situation. That’s been pretty much the definition of his season and when it’s not really your fault it certainly leaves that sour “almost” taste. For 99 laps on Sunday, it looked like we were just for another “almost” but as I’m sure Rick is saying afterwards, we got a “finally!” instead.
TT: Let’s talk about Eckert’s dramatic move at the conclusion of the 100-lapper. It’s rare that the top five were all on the same straightaway in the waning laps at EAMS, so the race definitely had a feel that something was going to happen.
And when leader Tim McCreadie clearly began to struggle late, Eckert perfectly timed an outside pass exiting turn four heading for the white flag to score a thrilling victory. It was quite a move.
BS: While there have been some good shorter distance races at EAMS over the history of the place, I think that most folks associate the long-distance races with ultimately total domination by a single driver with the top five getting stretched. This clearly wasn't the case in this event with a really exciting finish. Kudos to the EAMS track staff on a job well done.
TT: There were a few times I thought Eckert was really setting him up, but I wasn't so sure he was going to be able to make it work. It was one of those moves where he really hit the moment.
AS: Eckert deserves a ton of credit for his patience with that race-winning move. To me, it seems that more often than not, drivers are now overaggressive in trying to get to the front and set a torrid pace rather than riding steady and plotting their moves like Eckert did. It takes great focus to ride around behind somebody for so many laps, hitting your marks on a glassy track surface and waiting for that one moment to pounce.
On the other hand, as we hear all of the time, it’s easier to be second than first in situations like the one we saw yesterday. You feel terrible for T-Mac, who drove a great race from eighth to the lead and his tires seemed to just get away from him. All in all, that’s was a fun finish to a marathon weekend at EAMS.
TT: Let’s turn our attention to this weekend’s World Finals in Charlotte, N.C., where Eckert and WoO drivers will head for the big weekend that includes World of Outlaws sprint cars along with DIRTcar’s big-block modified division. It’s an event that, in a relatively short time, has really come to symbolize the ending of the season along with featuring one of the most competitive Late Model fields of the year.
The big news at DirtonDirt.com is live pay-per-view video on Thursday and Friday and Saturday, and it’s likely many fans unable to head to Charlotte can enjoy what’s always an exciting weekend. Jimmy Owens swept last year’s Late Model features — any candidates to pull of such a feat this year?
AS: I’ll be making my first trip to the World Finals this weekend along with the (shameless plug siren once again) DirtonDirt.com pay-per-view team to broadcast every lap of the Late Models, sprints and big-blocks live right here on our website, and I’m looking forward to it as the event has evolved into the season-ending stamp. Is a sweep possible? Yes. Will we see it for a second straight season? I’m doubtful. Jimmy Owens has turned Charlotte into his personal Chuck E. Cheese in recent years, but I feel that somebody will find a way to keep him out of victory lane at least once. Jason Feger, perhaps?
BS: This is a very exciting weekend on several fronts for me. First this has become just a must-see event for me after making my first trip last year. As a guy that loves every form of racing it's really cools to see Super Late Models, sprint cars and the big-block modifieds all on the same card. Next this event has a way of drawing a really eclectic field to the state-of-the-art facility, and really comes down to a matter of bragging rights for many of the nation's best drivers. The pay-per-view angle is really cool because now for anybody who isn't lucky enough to get to go, we can bring it straight into their homes and make them feel like they are there. Finally, I'm beyond excited to be announcing the event this year. It's just an awesome crowd and an awesome atmosphere.
As far as a sweep, I think that will be a hard act to repeat, but I wouldn't count out Jimmy Owens doing it again — or perhaps Darrell Lanigan. Lanigan was very good there last year, but just had to deal with a dominant Jimmy Owens.
TT: With Josh Richards virtually assured the WoO title, there likely won’t be any points drama. Anything else you guys are looking for to spice the weekend at Charlotte? Surprise entrants? Surprise contenders? Details from Lanigan about leaked photos of a Club 29 chassis out of Ronnie Stuckey’s Louisiana shops?
BS: While Silly Season got an early jump for 2014 already, there always seems to be interesting track, driver, sanction and track news — along with rumors, lies, and general innuendos — that surface during World Finals weekend. I'm sure this one will be no different, and will make for an entertaining Fast Talk next week.
AS: For the second straight year, we’re carrying a tight Driver of the Year race to Charlotte. Darrell Lanigan, Jimmy Owens and Josh Richards — 1-2-3 in DirtonDirt.com’s current Top 25 power rankings — each have claim to the crown, and I believe one of the three will make a lasting impression this weekend. Though I'm not sure he qualifies as a "surprise" anymore, I really think Jason Feger can get the job done and visit victory lane this weekend. He's had a killer past couple of months and has been competitive at every event he has hit along the way. I think it could all come to head this weekend.
TT: To wrap up, let’s briefly tackle the expansion of CT 525-engine tours. Hall of Fame chassis builder C.J. Rayburn’s 2009 attempt to champion the all-aluminum Crate engine — it’s a version of the powerplant in Chevy’s Corvette — with a series never got traction. But Mike Vaughn’s Chevrolet Performance Super Late Model Series had some late-summer success, and now a North Carolina tour (Fast Unified Engine Late Models or FUEL) and West Virginia tour (ADRA) are following a similar path.
Open-competition engines clearly dominate the top end of Dirt Late Model racing, but an engine that’s race-ready for $10,000, and requires less maintenance, seems to be a good fit for regional tours. It’ll take a transition period for lower-budget teams to move away from traditional engine configurations to get these tours rolling, don’t you all think?
BS: I think the biggest challenge that any of these tours have and will face will be the mind set of the guy, who has always worked on his own engine, and likes to tinker with it. These folks don't like the idea of having to take their piece to a certified rebuilder, whenever there is an issue. I like how these series are surfacing in somewhat different geographic areas, and I think that will be a key to success for any and all of them.
We are battling saturation already in the Dirt Late Model world where sometimes it seems we are working against ourselves with shows booked on each other, series that directly compete in the same market, etc. If the 525 contingent can continue to work together it will help Dirt Late Model racing in some markets, where it has died or is on life support. We'll see to what point it can grow over the next year or two. An interesting development for sure.
TT: Let's hope, Ben, there's not a lot of "tinkering" that leads to some of the cheating issues we've seen before with limited and crate engine competition.
BS: Yeah, that's the key problem from my viewpoint, Todd.
AS: The biggest complaint we see among racers these days is always about costs, so giving teams another option and catering to lower-budget teams with a simple, cost-efficient option like these CT 525-engine tours is a nice thing, but like with anything, these tours taking off will be a process. As Ben mentioned, there will be reluctance from those home-grown racers and we are battling saturation, but it's possible they can find a niche.
BS: One final thing I will note in this discussion is that I would like to see these tours have options for open Super Late Models to run with them. Make the Supers carry extra weight, use smaller spoilers or whatever. I just think that these tours should give the open-competition engine guys a chance to run, because the majority of the open-comp tours offer the opportunity to the 525 guys to race. Just some food for thought.
